For Daniel Powter, it's about the album, not individual songs

July 26, 2006|By Ned Donovan, Special to The Morning Call.

I just had to level with Daniel Powter.

After hearing the Canadian's self-titled debut, I was ready to write a savage review. Heck, his breakthrough single, the unnervingly infectious (and ubiquitous) "Bad Day," was enough to make me swear off anybody who looked even a little like a pretty-boy pop star.

But one day "Free Loop" came out of my speakers when my computer was in random select mode, and I started thinking, "Hey, this is pretty good. Who is this?"

Turned out to be Powter, so I gave "Daniel Powter" another listen, and loved it.

Powter listens to this story patiently, and understands. "The album is weird like that," says the 35-year-old musician over the phone, "because you have the explosion of `Bad Day,' and everyone judges the book by its cover. But the album as a whole is so much different. It's really about the album, not about any individual song."

During a recent half-hour interview, Powter, who will perform Wednesday night at Chicago's Park West, elaborated on his seductive disc.

Q. Wasn't "Daniel Powter" first released overseas?

A. Actually, it was in France. . . . It was really weird. After France it was (released in) Australia, and Japan, and Ireland. That's how it started. I didn't really like all this, though. Being sent on tour [from one country to the next], I felt like the 18-year-old drug-addict son whose parents send him off to rehab in the desert. I really had to meet [other people's] expectations, overcome them and surpass them, and make myself a better person.

But I kept looking over my shoulder at the Atlantic and saying, "I want to go home." Not only that, but I wanted to enter the music scene of the United States. I mean, radio is so much different here. In Europe, they still do a lot of singles versus full albums. Here you can't get away with that. The music culture is just different there. Here, all the radio stations are by genre, and they're all categorized. That's one of the reasons why I'm seen the way I am.

Q. "Bad Day" is so huge now. Ever get sick of playing it?

A. I always felt like this was everybody's song. Now I see everyone singing it . . . it's not really mine anymore. When I was in Germany, there were Goth guys wearing black and sunglasses singing along with "Bad Day."

It was a really weird sight to see, but I was like, "Cool, you know, whatever." I wrote the song in 10 minutes and recorded the whole album for $12,000. To see ("Bad Day") blow up is a weird thing, because it was not the song I spent the most time on.

Q. Do you regret "Bad Day" being used by "American Idol"?

A. It wasn't really my choice. The only thing I can really control at this point is the venues I play, how I play and how I interact with the audience. I try to distance myself from the decisions involving singles, simply because I don't like it. I like having my album listened to in its entirety, instead of having it chopped up.

Q. What question aggravates you the most?

A. "What were you thinking about when you wrote `Bad Day'?" It annoys me, because people who ask are more interested in getting stuff out of that one song. The weird thing about that song is . . . it's really not that interesting. I mean, I love playing that song, but the frustrating part is how people won't let it alone. I love the fact that they love it, but it's really not that interesting a piece either lyrically or musically.

Q. Your next single is "Jimmy Gets High," although the name is being changed to "Jimmy." Is this your favorite on the album?

A. Yeah. There's something about it that feels like a personal story with the addiction that I had. And when people hear it, everyone can relate and feel sorry for the down-and-out guy.

These songs on the album are a diary of the past 15 years of my life. I never would have written these songs when I was 18. I had to live a little.

It's unfortunate that it has to be released as "Jimmy," because that really destroys an essence of the song itself. I will always call it "Jimmy Gets High," even if no one else does once it's released.

Q. You've been compared to artists such as Jason Mraz, James Blunt and matchbox twenty. The other day, I even heard someone thought you were the voice on the Gnarls Barkley single "Crazy." Who would you say are your influences, and what do you listen to?

A. I never really listen to any of those artists. I've heard of Jason Mraz. I like his stuff. But it's always easier for someone to put you in a box and categorize your music to file it away. That's what people will always do, and I just say, "Whatever, file me away with lesser crap." [Laughs.]

Q. The thing I noticed about this album when I listened to it the second time and actually paid attention was that the word love is almost non-existent. In fact I don't think it's there at all. How was it possible to write ballads without using the word love?

A. I really wanted to avoid it. I'm not gonna say I'll always avoid it, but I thought it was better for me to be cryptic about things. . . . When it came time for the lyrics, I decided to write about screwing up and making bad choices and, yeah, overcoming them, you know? I didn't want to sing about being in love. . . . It just wasn't important to me. You can still sing about love without having to say it.

Q. You are now crossing the U.S. on a small-club tour. Why aren't you playing larger stadiums and concert halls?

A. Something I tried to keep low-key was grabbed and made huge. It wasn't my choice to put "Bad Day" in all those commercials and on "American Idol." It just sort of happened that way, and that's why I want to keep this tour low-key, because when you're playing intimately, you can truly relate to an audience. In a small club setting it's your time and that's your living room and those people become your family.